When it’s all said and done, what did the article amount to?)

Hollitz, Chapter 4, “Evaluating One Historian’s Argument ”
Critical Thinking Analysis (CTA) on secondary source “The Unknown American Revolution”
by Gary B. Nash
This is the first part of a three-part assignment. You will first have to carefully read Chapter Four in the Hollitz text. The chapter is included in the module.
Then you will complete the following Critical Thinking analysis. It is similar to the primary source analysis, in that it helps you ask questions to better understand the significance and meaning of the source. This will be answered in a question and answer format. It is not an essay.
After this assignment is completed, you may move on to the thesis assignment and then the essay which is writing assignment three.
1. To begin this assignment, actively read Chapter 4, including the introduction. In all honesty, the introduction provides us with many answers for this assignment! This Critical Thinking analysis is just over the secondary source The Unknown American Revolution, by Gary Nash. This secondary source is on page 59-69 of the readings. You will use the rest of the chapter for the thesis assignment and the essay assignment.
2. Then review the, How to do a Critical Thinking Analysis.The How to do a Critical Thinking Analysis rubric also provides an example of what a Critical Thinking Analysis looks like. Remember that the “Important Information” Question three will be the longest part of your CTA; Document 1 in Hollitz, Chapter 4 is a 10-page reading so you will have a rather long list of supporting evidence under “Important Information.” However, do not include every single little detail just to fill the page. You must demonstrate that you can pick out key information and explain it in a clear way.
3. Answering the CTA questions in complete sentences.
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Critical Thinking Analysis
How to do a Critical Thinking Analysis
Below is a rubric (a guided series of steps) to help you better understand what you read. Every piece of writing that you’re given to analyze in this course has a purpose, seeks to answer some key question, or uses information to support its argument.
To analyze critically is a skill that will benefit you in any course and in your chosen career. Ideally, these questions will become habitual for you and should naturally come to you as you read the newspaper, office memos, magazine articles, or even books. The questions in parentheses are included to help you better understand that particular analysis component. As you consider each rubric point, use these parenthetical questions to write a more complete answer in your paper.
Note: The questions in parentheses are not ones that you have to answer- they are simply to help you understand what this particular point is about.
The rubric components include the following 8 CTA questions:
CTA QUESTIONS
1. The main purpose of this article is ____________________________. (Why might the article have been written? Was the probable audience others in the field, the average reader, or students who have to read this stuff in a history class? It’s hard to imagine something written that isn’t trying to convince or inform someone of something. What is that something in this article?) This is one to two sentences.
2. The key question that the author is addressing is ____________________. (This may look like the purpose, but it isn’t exactly. What question does the author address and then tries to answer in the article?) This should be phrased as one question.
3. The most important evidence in this article is ______________________. (This is always the longest part of your analysis because here you’ll be listing the support the author calls upon to convince you of what s/he is arguing. Include the supporting evidence (facts on events, dates, people, theories, etc) that the author explains to support his/her position. This evidence will, more than likely, be discussed throughout the entire article, not just the first few paragraphs.)
4. The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article is/are ____________. (Remember concepts are organizing ideas used in reasoning and explanation. So, what are the key ideas expressed in this article?) These can be a single word or a short phrase (Examples: freedom, oppression, violence, rights, cult of true womanhood).
5. The main conclusions in this article are _________________________. (So, what does the author conclude in his/her article? When it’s all said and done, what did the article amount to?) Sometimes the conclusion(s) are stated at the beginning of the article, sometimes at the end, and sometimes in the middle. Your summary of the conclusion should be no more than two to three sentences.
6. The main assumptions underlying author’s thinking is/are _______________________. (What is the author taking for granted [that might be questioned]? Most of us make some assumptions when we write, even if it’s as simple as “My reader will understand this…” or “Everyone knows that….”Are there things that writer seems to be taking for granted that we might question? Is there evidence that the writer was influenced by his/her climate of opinion?)
7. What are the consequences of this author’s line of reasoning? (Let’s assume that we are convinced by what s/he says. Are there consequences to that? Maybe it will only shape how we see the past. Perhaps it will change how we see problems we face today. It might even change how we think of human nature or how people behave or how they organize themselves to accomplish common goals or respond to challenges and threats.)
8. The main point(s) of view presented in this article is/are _______________. (The point of view concerns the author’s frame of reference. In other words, how does the author appear to look at what is presented? Does s/he show respect or sympathy or disdain for the people and/or events described in the article? This can be stated in a sentence or two.
This is to be answered in a question-answer format.